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Governor Designates April as Financial Literacy Month in Mississippi

Posted On:
4/11/2018

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Jackson, Miss. Governor Phil Bryant today signed the
official proclamation designating April 2018 as Financial Literacy Month for
Mississippi.Nationally, the month is an
opportunity to promote strong financial education and empower Americans of all
ages and income levels to take control of their personal finances.President Trump has issued his annual
Presidential Message on National Financial Capability Month, as well.

The text of the Governor’s
proclamation is as follows:

WHEREAS, the
Mississippi Council on Economic Education is dedicated to improving the
personal financial literacy of Mississippi youth by promoting the teaching of
personal finance concepts using the economic way of thinking in kindergarten
through twelfth grade; and

WHEREAS, it is
essential that the people of Mississippi be financially literate in order to
make informed and responsible decisions regarding money management, saving,
investing, finance, credit, and debt; and

WHEREAS, two out
of three Mississippians do not have sufficient savings to cover emergencies;
and

WHEREAS, over
half of Mississippi college graduates in 2016 had student loan debt and that
average debt was $29,384; and

WHEREAS, 39% of U.S.
adults carry credit card debt month-to-month and more than 1 in 4 adults do not
save anything saved for retirement; and

WHEREAS, 38% of Mississippians
have no savings at all and 56% of residents have less than $1,000 saved; and

WHEREAS,
acquisition of financial literacy skills by citizens will improve the quality
of their lives, provide them with skills
for success, contribute to positive
changes in the communities in which they live and work, and benefit the economy of Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, the
Treasurer’s Education About Money (TEAM) initiative is committed to providing
financial education to Mississippi schools at no cost to the school through a
public-private partnership powered by EverFi and the Mississippi Council on
Economic Education; and

WHEREAS, 30% of
4th-12th graders in Mississippi public schools are using EverFi’s online
financial literacy curriculum in over 441 Mississippi schools, which is the
highest percentage of students enrolled in this curriculum of any state in the
nation; and

WHEREAS, the Mississippi Council on Economic
Education will host the state Financial Literacy Challenge at Millsaps College
in Jackson, Mississippi on Thursday, April 19, 2018, from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm
at which the state challenge winners and the state financial literacy student
of the year will be named and receive Mississippi Affordable College Savings
(MACS) scholarships; and

WHEREAS, it is
the desire of the Mississippi Council on Economic Education to designate April
as “Financial Literacy Month” raising the public’s awareness of the need for
financial education not only among our youth but all Mississippians and hereby
urge all citizens to participate fully in this observance; and

NOW, THEREFORE,
I, Phil Bryant, Governor of the State of Mississippi, hereby proclaim April as FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTHin the state of Mississippi.